The First Year
by Kristinexists
Summary: After the Second Wizarding War, house rivalries are fiercer than ever. Friendships and feelings form - not all of them always socially acceptable, as the 104th enter their first year of school at Hogwarts, along with the next generation of Potters, Weasleys, and Malfoys. Albus/Scorpius, Jeanmarco, Eremin, Springles, Yumikuri, Reibert, Annie/Marlowe, Petra/James, and Mikasa/Rose.
1. Thr Begining - Part One

**A/N: So here it is, my long awaited (for me, anyway) SNK Hogwarts AU. So, here's how it's gonna go down for those who care: Almost every chapter is going to be from a different POV, most characters are important. As far as the ships go, this is going to be a seven-story series, so slow burning they shall be, but I promise that they'll all develop in time and I'll give lots of love and attention to each and every one.**

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"It won't be long and you'll be going too," Albus heard his father's voice from behind him. He glanced back to see his younger sister, Lily, tearfully clinging to him as he pushed a full trolley along.

"So, about the sorting…you know, you could always end up in Slytherin."

Albus sneered as his older brother, James, made his way beside him, as they walked to the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross Station. He'd been pushing Albus' buttons for weeks, talking about how he might end up in Slytherin, the most loathed of Hogwarts houses.

"I won't!" snapped Albus, angrily, "I won't be in Slytherin!" The mere idea of belonging to the despised house of traitors' children made him upset. Slytherin had been the house of the conquered Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Since the Second Wizarding War had ended eighteen years prior, the house had only gained notoriety, and any Potter would be ashamed to be thrown into that circumstance.

"James, give it a rest!" their mum shouted from beside their father.

"I only said he might be." Albus wished he could knock the cocky grin from his brother's face. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-" James fell silent at the warning look Ginny Potter gave. Albus mentally noted to thank his wonderful mother later.

The five approached the barrier, and James, forever the show-off, glanced at Albus, smirking, and ran full speed through the barrier to platform 9 ¾. Albus sighed with relief at the temporary absence of his brother. He turned to his mum.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked, nervously. He'd never gone a day without his family before, and to be stuck with just James sounded less than fun, even with cousin Rose by his side.

"Every day, if you want us to," Ginny smiled at him, lovingly.

He felt himself heat up with embarrassment, "Not every day! James says most people only get letters from home about once a month." The thought of corresponding with his parents so infrequently made him ache with loneliness. He knew he'd miss them terribly.

"We wrote to James three times a week last year," his mother assured him. He should have known; James was such a liar. He felt a bit better knowing he could talk to his family whenever he needed, without it being seen as too needy.

"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts. He likes a laugh, your brother," said his father, approaching the two, still holding onto Lily.

It was time to enter the platform. Albus had done it before to see James and his older cousins off to school, but it still freaked him out a bit every time. He was running at what looked to be a solid wall, after all. Once on the other side Albus looked around the crowded, noisy platform, full of families saying goodbye to one another. He spotted a boy with two-toned hair who looked to be about his age, attempting to squirm out of his mother's grasp as she covered his face in kisses, and an excited young girl, bear-hugging a burly, bearded man and laughing. The faces he was looking for, however, were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they?" he asked, anxiously, hoping to chance upon a group of freckled faces.

"We'll find them," said his mother as she calmly looked around.

"I think I see them, Al," she said after a few moments, as a family made their way towards them.

"Hi," Albus greeted, relieved to finally see his aunt, uncle, and cousins. His cousin Rose grinned widely at him; already dressed in her school robes. A fiery red pony tail suck out from the side of her head. "_What a nerd," _Albus thought, fondly.

"Park alright, then?" His Uncle Ron asked his dad, "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you?" he smiled, "Thought I'd have to Cunfund the examiner."

"No I didn't. I had complete faith in you," his Aunt Hermione retorted, as his uncle helped his dad lift his snowy owl, Bora, off of the trolley and onto the train.

After loading up, they made their way over to Lily and Rose's younger brother Hugo, who were, of course, discussing being sorted into houses. Albus' stomach dropped, disheartened.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure," Ron told Hugo. Lily and Hugo giggled. Albus felt like he was about to throw up.

"He doesn't mean it," said Hermione, but Albus wasn't so sure.

"Look who it is."

Albus' head snapped up to see what his uncle was alluding to. Standing in the not-so-far distance was the Malfoy family. Albus had heard many stories about his parent's time at school with the unpleasant father of the family, Draco. While his father never made Draco Malfoy out to be the monster his Uncle Ron did, his distain was obvious. Malfoy had been a Death Eater once upon a time, after all, and was one more reason to avoid Slytherin House. Malfoy spotted their family and nodded to Harry, civilly, before turning to lift a trunk into the train.

"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron. Albus took note of the gaunt-looking blond boy standing beside Malfoy. He looked every bit like his father as Albus did Harry. There was a much different air about him, though. He seemed fidgety.

"Make sure you beat him in every test Rosie," Ron told his daughter, "Thank God you inherited your mother's brains." Rose grinned at the compliment from her father. The young red-head appreciated her smarts, and, unbeknownst to her father, was really hoping to get into Ravenclaw House. She had confided in Albus abut this months before, claiming that she believed it was the best way to have access to expanding her mind beyond what she was used to, as well as meet more open-minded students than what Gryffindor House usually held. Albus only wished he had the guts to defy his family's traditions so strongly.

"For heaven's sake! Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!" laughed Hermione. Albus only wished it was that easy.

"You're right, sorry. Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if your married a pureblood."

"_Like a Weasley would ever marry a Malfoy," _Albus thought to himself.

"Hey!" Albus inwardly groaned as his brother reappeared, "Teddy's back there! Just seen him! And guess what he's doing?" the thirteen year old exclaimed angrily, "Snogging Victorie!"

No one seemed to care. Albus wasn't the least bit surprised. Ted and Victorie had been dating for over a year, now.

"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin!" he continued, "Snogging Victorie! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" scolded their mother, "You are so like Ron-"

"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away!" James interrupted, clearly irritated that no one was as upset by this news as he was. "He's snogging her!"

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married! Teddy would really be part of the family then!" Albus heard Lily whisper happily. Little Lily was a total sap when it came to love. It was really too cute.

"He already comes 'round for dinner about four times a week. Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?" agreed his father, smiling down at his daughter.

"Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing a room with Al. Teddy could have my room!"

_"No thank you,"_ thought Albus, wrinkling his nose in disdain.

You and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished," their father replied, firmly. Albus would have to remember to thank him, as well. "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board," Harry said, quickly, checking his watch. Albus' stomach squeezed with anxiety.

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" said his mum, hugging James goodbye.

"Mum! I can't give a professor _love_!"

"But you know Neville!"

James snorted and rolled his eyes, "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him _love_!" Then James shook his head, before kicking at Albus.

"Hey!" he snapped. _"This is going be just fantastic, stuck with that git all year without mum and dad."_

See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals," James called, laughing.

"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!" Albus called, heart racing. He wasn't going to last the first month with all of the anxiety he was dealing with already.

James didn't reply, as he said one last quick goodbye to their parents and then made his way quickly to the Hogwarts Express.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about. They're gentle, there's nothing scary about them," assured his father, kindly, as Albus looked up into his bright green eyes, which mirrored his own. He could see his own fear in them. "Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

Suddenly, his mother swept him up in her arms, kissing him on the cheek. "See you at Christmas." He held her tightly, not afraid to hide his shakiness around her. He trusted his parents entirely, and it felt good to at least be able to have that.

"Bye Al," said his father, hugging him equally as tight. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone 'til you've learned how," Albus nodded vigorously in his dad's arms, "_And don't let James wind you up." _He added the last part, knowingly.

Albus swallowed hard, thinking about his brother, _"Y__ou could always end up in Slytherin." _Albus began to shake.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?" he whispered to his father, looking up with the utmost sincerity, longing for his father to drive the fear from his mind. Harry crouched down, looking kindly into the eyes that they shared.

"Albus Severus," he said, seriousness in his voice, Albus stopped shaking at the mention of his full name, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

"But just say-"

His father cut him off, "then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al."

He had forgotten. Even if the rest of the wizarding world seemed to despise Slytherin House, his father did not. He was an auror, a member of the legendary Order of the Phoenix, and he didn't discriminate. Not ever. His father had been through Hell because of the stereotypes of Slytherin coming true, and yet he refused to attack the house or its members the way Albus' uncle, his brother, and others tended to. There was something to Slytherin house beyond what others saw, and Harry Potter saw it.

"But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

He blinked in surprise, "Really?"

"It did for me."

Then the realization dawned on him. His father had almost been a Slytherin. If he hadn't chosen otherwise, he would have been. His amazing, loving, legendary father had the makings of a Slytherin. A good chunk of the weight that, before, seemed to rest on his little eleven year old shoulders melted away.

Suddenly, compartment doors began to slam, as the last of the students filed onto the train. Albus jumped up in shock, pulling away to run onboard before it was too late. His father and Uncle Ron followed, as Albus joined his cousins.

"Why are they staring?" he asked, noticing his fellow students gawking at the adults he had with him.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me. I'm extremely famous." Everyone laughed at this.

Shortly after, the train began to move. Albus waved at his father as they departed from the station. _"Thanks, dad,"_ he thought, smiling as his parents' faces got smaller and smaller in the distance.

Once he could no longer see them, he turned to find the compartment that Rose was in. He found her sat between James and Owen Jordan, a third year Gryffindor and friend of James'.

"There's little brother," greeted James, "Took you long enough. Too busy crying all over mum, huh?"

Albus rolled his eyes, as he plopped down across from the trio, "Sure. And you _don't_ get written to three times a week, right?"

James' face flushed red. Rose giggled and Owen high-fived Albus.

"Bout time you start getting him back, Al," he winked.

"Yeah, well we'll see who's getting who when we get to school," said James, "Ready for a prank war, Al? Because it's gonna happen."

Albus groaned at his brother's grin.

"Come on, mate. He's only a first year, give him a bit to warm up first," laughed Owen.

"So, Victorie already went up to the prefect car, I'm guessing?" asked Albus, changing the subject.

"Yeah," said Rose, "Not before James chewed her out for snogging Teddy, though." James snorted indignantly. "She popped in to say hi before you got here," Rose added.

"I'm sure I'll get to see her plenty," Albus shrugged. That was, if he was in Gryffindor, since Victorie had been named house prefect the year prior. He figured it would be better for his cousin not to make another appearance until after James had calmed down some.

"What about Fred and Molly?" asked Rose, suddenly. Albus knew something was out of place. Their fourth and fifth year cousins, Fred and Molly Weasley weren't there with them.

"Molly decided to sit with her new _boyfriend_," James sneered, "And Fred went off with that Hufflepuff, Jinn." Today just didn't seem to be his day. Albus couldn't say he minded, considering his brother's behavior earlier.

"Jinn?" Albus asked, half out of genuine curiosity, and half to watch his brother seethe a bit more.

"Eld Jinn," James responded, venom in his voice. Petra hangs out in that little group of his. Wish she'd spend some time with people of her own house, for once.

"Fred's in her house," teased Rose, flicking his shoulder.

"That's not what I meant-" snapped James. He was cut off by someone knocking at their compartment door. They all jumped as it slid open to reveal a familiar face.

"Oh, hi! I'm really sorry to bother you. All of the compartments seem to be full, and, um, I was wondering if I could possibly join you?"

Albus' jaw literally hung agape. Standing outside of their compartment was none other than a shyly smiling Scorpius Malfoy.

When nobody responded Scorpius glanced down at the floor and shuffled his feet awkwardly a bit, "I mean, if it's any trouble I guess I'll just-"

"Get the hell out of here, Malfoy!" The outburst came from James, who leapt up, wand out at the polite little blond boy who was the son of their father's school rival.

"Excuse me?" asked Scorpius, stepping back, eyes wide with surprise.

"Leave," hissed James, coming closer, until his wand's tip almost pressed against Scorpius' chest.

"H-hey. I didn't mean to offend-"

"James!" snapped Rose, pulling her cousin back, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," apologized Scorpius quickly and sincerely, before turning around and walking away as quickly as he could.

"What was that?" shouted Rose, face turning pink, as James sat back down, huffily after slamming the door.

"Getting rid of vermin," said James, flicking his wand in irritation.

Albus was still attempting to register what had just happened. Scorpius Malfoy had just tried to sit with them. He had seemed…nice. And scared. Albus didn't blame him. He could only imagine what it was like, coming to Hogwarts all by himself, with no family or friends to rely on. Albus had always had a big family to rely on, but as far as he knew, Scorpius was on his own. He was the child of an ex-Death Eater, too, which wouldn't score him any points. Albus felt a pang of sadness for the young Malfoy. He hadn't done anything to deserve James' lashing out.

"He hadn't done anything yet," said Albus, quietly, mostly to himself.

"Exactly!" exclaimed Rose, "Al gets it."

"Yeah, well Al can go and be in Slytherin with him, too," James growled.

Albus' eyes snapped open, angrily, heat surging through his small body. But, before he could retort, there was another knock at the door. James looked livid.

However, when the door slid open it did not reveal Scorpius Malfoy this time, but instead three new students. One was a girl with dark eyes and even darker hair, a thick, crimson scarf that didn't seem to be a school scarf, loosely wrapped around her neck, one was a rather short, kind-looking boy with longish blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and the third was a scrappy looking brunette with fierce caribbean eyes.

"Hi," greeted the blond politely; apparently Albus' first day was going to be filled with polite blonds. "All the other compartments are pretty full. Do you think we could squeeze in with you?"

"Not a problem," said Albus quickly, before James could retort. He scooted over and patted the seat beside him. The three nodded appreciatively, entering the compartment. The brunette reached into a messenger bag he had brought in with him, rummaging around.

"Crap," he groaned. "Mikasa, I think I-"

"Here," the girl tossed him a sandwich.

"You-"

"I thought you might lose it, so I took it and decided to carry it this morning when you weren't looking," the girl said, matter-of-factly. The blond chuckled as the brunette boy huffily took a bite out of it.

"You're not my mom, you know," he grumped, not too unkindly, mouth full.

The girl unwrapped her own sandwich as the blond looked around at them, as if deciphering some sort of puzzle.

"Uhm…hi," said Rose, waving awkwardly at him.

"Oh!" he said, blushing, "Sorry, that was rude. My name is Armin Arlert," he said.

"Eren Jaeger," the brunette saluted, swallowing.

"And I'm Mikasa Ackerman," nodded the girl.

"Rose Weasley," smiled Rose, "Charmed. The two losers on either side of me are Owen Jordan, and my cousin James Potter."

"And I'm Albus Potter," Albus said. "Rose and I are first years. Are you as well?" he asked. They looked about his age, and had on regular robes, without any house embroidering.

"Yeah," replied Eren, balling up the paper his sandwich had previously wrapped in.

"Wait," said Owen, "You said your last name is Ackerman, right?" he asked Mikasa.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Like Professor Levi Ackerman?"

James' head snapped up to look at her, brown eyes wide, "No way!"

"He's my cousin," she said, "He's a lot older than me and always busy, so we don't talk much," she shrugged, "I can't imagine he's fun to have as a teacher, though."

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Owen, "The guy is totally mad!"

Albus had heard about James' least favorite professor, Professor Ackerman. If James' stories had any worth in them, the guy was pretty much an angry goblin who hated everything.

"But he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, right?" asked Eren.

"Yeah," replied Owen.

"Then I'm going to impress him."

The four turned to look at Eren quizzically. If Professor Ackerman was really as much of a hard-ass as described it was going to be fairly hard for the kid who had to have his lunch babysat impress him.

"Why?" asked James, "And how? Are you mad?"

"I want to be an auror," said Eren, eyes suddenly growing more intense. "I'm going to catch the scum of this world, the monsters out there who pretend to be human and use their magic to hurt others. When I'm through with them there won't be any more dark wizards left, hiding in the corners of the Earth, while they piss themselves, scared of me and the others who want them dead. They won't stand a chance!"

Albus was blown away by this kid. He was only eleven, but he was definitely determined. The fact that Armin and Mikasa didn't even flinch, while the rest of the compartment gawked, could only mean that they had gotten that kind of speech multiple times by now, and believed in him one-hundred percent. If only Albus knew what he wanted as much as Eren did, even if he did sound slightly crazy.

"You'll be in Gryffindor for sure," said James, once they had recovered, "Owen and I are Gryffindors."

"That's where I'm going to be. Wouldn't go for anything else." Albus noted that he didn't say 'That's where I _want _to be'. This kid knew himself completely, it seemed.

"Good man," smiled James, "What about you?" he asked Mikasa.

"Gryffindor," she responded, "Where Eren goes, I'm going."

"Why?" Albus asked, taken aback.

"Eren is my family, and I need to stick with him," she shrugged. So they were cousins? Adopted siblings? Whatever the case, her answer tugged at his core. It was as good of an answer as any. After all, didn't he just want to be in Gryffindor to uphold the family name? He wasn't worried about protecting or sticking with his family members, like Mikasa, which would have been honorable. He just didn't want to be an outcast. He was beginning to feel sick again, this time with himself.

"What about you, Armin?" he asked, trying to ignore the way his guts were grinding in in this stomach.

"Oh, I don't mind," the blond replied thoughtfully. "As long as I'm in the same school as my friends, I'll be alright."

Did these three even know about the house prejudices? Eren seemed to have some idea, Mikasa simply didn't seem to care. But, for Armin to be so open to any possibility….

"Wouldn't you want to at least avoid Slytherin?" he asked.

"Not really," Armin replied, "I'm only half-blood, when it comes to my parents, unlike Eren and Mikasa, I'm not really sure where Slytherin stands on that after the war, but there's always the rumors." Albus' anxiety began to creep up on him again. But then he remembered his father's words. Besides, considering that there were only so many pureblood families left, it couldn't really be that bad, right?

"Slytherins are supposed to be really intelligent, though, right?" Armin continued, "And they're supposedly more likely to look for forbidden knowledge, too." So Armin was the researching type. It really didn't surprise Albus at all.

"Yeah, dark knowledge," grunted Eren, nudging Armin playfully.

"I suppose so," said Armin, his face turning red, as he looked down at his feet, sadly.

"We love you, no matter what," comforted Mikasa, playfully kicking at Eren.

Albus decided he liked the three. There was just something so genuine about them, unlike his relationship with his brother. He didn't even have to ask; he knew the three had known and supported each other forever. He wouldn't have doubted them being together in another life, even.

"So, you two said that you're Potters, and you said that you're a Weasley?" asked Armin, turning to James, Rose, and Albus, perking up a bit.

"Yeah," said James, "And yeah we're _those _Potters and Weasley."

Armin chuckled, "I thought so. Must be kind of irritating, huh? Having famous parents and all."

Albus shrugged, "Our parents are too wrapped up in current stuff and work, I think. Some people stared when we were on the platform, but it's normally not so bad."

"Al, James, Owen," Rose said, cutting Albus short, "You guys should probably put on your school robes; you don't want to end up rushing last second when we arrive.

Albus nodded, yanking his robes from a bag he had brought on board with him, "Thanks, Rose."

Albus knew that once they made it to Hogwarts he wouldn't be gawking at the castle or the grounds the way that the other first years students would. His mind was still on the sorting that would be coming up in only a few moments. It wasn't fair, James constantly teasing him about ruining the family name. Then again, why did it matter? James was a bully, and his father had said he would be proud of him, regardless. But Slytherin house was so laden with taboo and past mistakes. He knew he wasn't particularly brave; the trademark of Gryffindor house. Maybe he'd be put in Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Or maybe, just maybe, he'd defy tradition and taboo. He was so sick and tired of the stereotypes surrounding the houses, all of them. He knew full well that Gryffindors weren't perfect, Hufflepuffs weren't useless, Ravenclaws weren't cold and logical, and Slytherins weren't all evil. But who was really going to be able to prove it to people like James, and as much as he had liked him, Eren? His mind snapped back to Scorpius Malfoy, and how kind the look in his bight, grey eyes had been when he asked to sit with them. Maybe his dad was right. Maybe he could be the brilliant student Slytherin needed to prove it. As he stepped off the train to meet Hagrid he smiled, a warm feeling settling in his chest in place of the anxiety in his stomach. He had wanted to know what to do so badly. Maybe now he did.

_"But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose…"_

He hoped his dad had been right.


	2. The Begining - Part Two

Mum, stop!" eleven year-old Jean Kirstein whined as his mother grabbed his face, planting multiple kisses on her son's cheeks.

I'm going to miss you so much, Jean-bo," she wept, hugging him tightly.

"You'll see me again at Christmas," snapped Jean, trying to wiggle out of his mother's death grip, to no avail.

"Now, you have everything, right?" she asked, finally letting go.

"Yes, mum," Jean replied kicking at his trunk beside them. His Spotted Owl, Dottie, complained loudly.

"Your toothbrush?" his mother asked.

"Yes."

"Got all of your books?"

"_Yes_ mum."

"What about enough clean underwear?"

_"MUM!"_

"I'm just making sure," she said, ruffling his blond mop of hair, lovingly.

"I need to load up, okay? Everything will be fine," he said, picking up his bags.

His mother nodded, giving him one last kiss on the forehead before letting him make his way to the train.

"I love you, Jean-bo!" she called out, as Jean climbed on board the Express.

"Love you too, mum," he said, hastily, but meaningfully, poking his head out of the train for one last quick goodbye. Jean despised the coddling his mother often gave in public. Not that he didn't care about her, but, come on, they were in _public_.

Turning away, Jean made his way through the car, heading for a compartment in the way back. He never was really the best at introductions, and figured being the first student to an empty compartment would probably create the best situation for meeting other students. He would have looked for some second year or older Slytherins, but he didn't think that older students would want to deal with currently unsorted first-years. His name might have been enough for someone to show some interest in taking him under their wing, but Jean had chosen to play it safe.

Sliding the door open and sitting himself down in an empty compartment, Jean could hear the mass of students piling onto the train. Nervous and excited voices filled the air, and Jean lazily tilted his head back, closing his eyes. It had been such a fast-paced morning, between the last minute packing, saying goodbye to his dad, before he had to rush off to the ministry, and heading to Kings Cross for the first time. It was good just to relax for a bit. He let out a long breath, thinking about the year that surely awaited him. He'd been waiting for years to attend Hogwarts. Finally, he was of age and really going to learn how to be a proper wizard. Jean pulled out his wand, happily examining it: Alder, 13 inches, phoenix feather core.

The Hogwarts Express began to move, as the last of students found their seats or leaned out of the train to wave to family members. No one had joined him in his compartment. Jean sighed. "_Figures," _he thought to himself, sadly. He tended to repel company. He knew that he had a rather off-putting personality. He really didn't have any friends, after all. Most of the pureblood families that his family might have associated with due to tradition were in Azkaban now, and those who weren't he had only met a handful of times. He turned to look out the window. This was going to be a really long ride.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He could make friends once he got sorted, he was sure. Both of his parents had been in Slytherin, and both had assured him time and time again that Slytherins stuck together. Unlike in other houses, he wouldn't be outcasted. Unless, of course, the sorting hat put him somewhere else. He cringed, thinking about it.

_"Imagine, a Kirstein in Hufflepuff," _thought Jean, chuckling bitterly to himself. He didn't want to admit it, but he was terribly lonely. Growing up as an only child didn't exactly help much. He secretly hoped he could make some close friendships at Hogwarts. Thus far, though, things seemed bleak. He cursed himself for taking the back compartment, instead of chancing a bad introduction.

Suddenly, he heard the door to his compartment open.

"Hi. Mind if we join you?"

Jean blinked in surprise, recognizing the boy in front of him, "Scorpius?"

"Jean!" the pale blond boy that stood before him smiled in recognition. Jean and Scorpius weren't exactly what Jean would call "friends" but their families did know one another, and often attended one another's social events.

Jean motioned for the young Malfoy to sit with him. Behind him was another boy their age. Jean studied him as he and Scorpius plopped themselves across from Jean. He was about an inch or two taller than Jean, and floppy, dark hair hung in a pair of caring, chocolate brown eyes. Freckles littered the boy's face and the back of his hands. There was an air of generosity and strength surrounding him that intrigued Jean in a truly uncanny way. He nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"I see you guys already know each other," the boy commented, smiling kindly, "I'm Marco Bodt."

"Jean Kirstein," Jean said, returning the smile, surprised with how comfortable the boy seemed despite just meeting him.

"We ran into each other while looking for a compartment," Scorpius put in, gesturing to Marco.

"Is it really that packed?" asked Jean, curious as to why no one had joined him previously if a Malfoy couldn't even find a compartment. The two nodded.

Jean shrugged, just thankful for the company.

"Exciting, isn't it?" asked Marco, "Going to Hogwarts for the first time, I mean."

"Hell yeah!" grinned Jean, finally beginning to loosen up, now that someone was attempting conversation with him. "I've been waiting for this forever, I swear. Finally, a chance to get away and start living, you know?"

Marco nodded, "My parents were a bit nervous about letting me leave home, though, you know?"

Jean snorted with laughter, "Uh, yeah. I know. My mum's the clingy type." Inwardly, he groaned at himself. What had possessed him to admit that to two kids he barely knew? It was excruciatingly embarrassing. Neither Marco nor Scorpius seemed to mind, though.

"Hey," said Marco, turning to Scorpius, "Who was that yelling at you back there, by the way?"

"Oh!" came Scorpius, looking away, self-consciously, "I think it was the oldest Potter, actually."

Jean raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "You approached the Potters?" he asked. Everyone knew about the Malfoy-Potter feud, but Scorpius never really seemed like the kind to pick fights.

"I didn't mean to," Scorpius replied, "I was just looking for somewhere to sit. I don't think they liked me much, though," he chuckled.

Jean wrinkled his nose in irritation.

"You should have hexed the git," he said, angrily.

Scorpius shook his head good-humoredly, "I don't know how yet. Even if I did, what would be the point? It's not their fault they have a bad impression of me."

Jean cocked his head in surprise. Was Scorpius insane? Probably, if he was trying to defend a Potter for going after him.

"Still, it was really crap of him," said Marco.

"That's one way of putting it," snorted Jean.

Marco laughed and Jean smiled to himself. Most people didn't respond well, if at all, to his backhand comments. He decided that he liked Marco Bodt then and there. He hoped he got sorted into Slytherin with Scorpius and himself.

"That's what happens sometimes," shrugged Scorpius, "I don't blame him. My family has put a lot of people, including their parents through a lot."

Jean scoffed as Marco's gaze flicked confusedly from Scorpius to him, "What d' you mean?"

"What do _you_ mean? You can't possibly not know," Jean said, looking to the freckle faced boy, who gave him a blank look in reply. Wow. He really didn't know.

"Marco is muggleborn," explained Scorpius, "he doesn't know about the war or anything."

Muggleborn? Scorpius was hanging out with a muggleborn? It wasn't that Jean _minded_ exactly. But it was incredibly strange. As a matter of fact, the more time he spent with the young Malfoy, the stranger he was. Once Jean was sorted he wasn't sure if he wanted to be seen as too friendly with a muggleborn. Even if it wasn't quite the taboo it had once been for members of certain families, he knew it would be harder to make friends in his desired house if he spent too much time with one. He felt a large pang of sadness at the thought.

"Oh," was his only reply.

"There was a war?" asked Marco, "Like, with magic?"

"Yeah. It ended before we were born, though," assured Scorpius, at Marco's nervous look. "There was this really evil dark wizard, known as Voldemort. He was so scary that people even refused speak his name." Marco's eyes grew large with disbelief. "He…well he wanted to exterminate Muggles and muggleborns. A lot of pureblooded wizards did, even though they didn't all act on it." Jean cringed, not liking the way Scorpius' explanation was going. He just hoped Marco wouldn't hate him when he found out that Jean belonged to one of those families. "It was horrible, and a lot of people died because of his intolerance." Jean couldn't help but feel bad for Marco, as the freckled boy gasped shock. "His soldiers were called Death Eaters, and long story short, my family comes from a long line of them," Scorpius smiled sadly, looking down at his feet. It was no secret that the Malfoy name held a decent amount of shame in the Wizarding world after the war, but Scorpius' parents had done what they could to restore the family to some shred of its former social standing. It looked to Jean like the past had defiantly found a way to resonate in and shame the youngest Malfoy, though.

Marco reached out to comfort his new friend, but Scorpius just shook his head, "A man named Harry Potter killed Voldemort and ended the war, which is probably one of the reasons members of that family don't exactly appreciate my company," he concluded.

"This is a lot to take in," said Marco laughing a bit, trying to bring some warmth to the compartment that had all-too-suddenly gone cold with the darkness of family pasts.

"Yeah, I'd imagine," Scorpius replied, "I'm sure it'll get easier once classes start and stuff, though."

"I hope so. I have so much to learn, not just about magic, but culture and history, too. I've been reading what I can, but...and the fact that there are wizards who hate muggleborns…" said Marco, face dropping with fear. Jean felt another pang of sadness, as he noticed the nervousness in his voice. "_Good going, Malfoy. You told him about the war and scared the shit out of him."_ He didn't know why he was so worried about the feelings of some muggleborn he just met, but he liked Marco. Him being afraid was the last thing Jean wanted.

"Hey, most witches and wizards do just fine, no matter their background." He mentally cursed himself for being such a sap.

Scorpius beamed at him, nodding vigorously, "Yeah, it'll be fantastic, you'll see, Marco."

"Thanks," said Marco, a bit more cheerfully, smiling at his companions.

Just then, a tap at their compartment door was heard, and the door slid open to reveal an older woman, pushing a snack cart, "Hello, dears. Would you like anything from the trolley?"

Jean's stomach audibly growled, and he could feel his face flush with embarrassment as Marco and Scorpius giggled at him.

"Just two pumpkin pasties for me," said Scorpius, reaching in his pocket to pull out a few coins.

"I'd like two as well," said Jean, "And also a cauldron cake and a pack of Berti Botts as well," said Jean, reaching into his money pouch to pay her.

"Anything for you, dear?" she asked, looking to Marco. "Um...no. I think I'm good, thanks," he replied.

"Tch, I'll take an extra pumpkin pasty, too, I think," he said, rolling his eyes. Marco looked at him quizzically, as he handed the pasty to him.

"I do have money, you know," said Marco.

"Yeah, I know," said Jean, "But you shouldn't be wary about eating wizard food. You'll be doing a lot of it, you know."

Marco nodded, unwrapping the pasty Jean had given him, as the snack trolley moved on, "Thanks," he said. Jean watched as Marco gingerly took a bite.

"This is really good!" said Marco, looking up at Jean. Jean smirked. However, before he could reply, there was a loud trampling sound outside of their compartment, and the door slammed open. Two first years, a boy and a girl, looked at them, hopefully.

"Has the Honeydukes lady been here yet?" the girl asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, "You just missed her."

The girl whipped her head out of the compartment to look down the aisle, then back to them, disappointedly, "She's gone. Looks like she just finished her rounds," she pouted.

"Sorry, Sash," the boy comforted, patting her arm.

"You can have some of my pasty, if you're hungry," offered Scorpius. Jean got the feeling that the Malfoy kid was this unbearably nice all of the time. Why hadn't he noticed before?

The girl's eyes lit up, and she pushed her way past Marco and Jean to sit herself down next to Scorpius, gladly accepting the snack from him. The boy made his way next to Jean.

"You know, I still have these," the boy said, shaking a box of every-flavor beans at his companion.

"Yeah, but you said that there's gross flavors," she replied, mouth full, ponytail swinging to and fro as she spoke.

Jean's eyes darted between the two newcomers. They were full of boundless energy, and never seemed to stay quiet for more than a few seconds. He could feel a headache coming on.

The boy, who Jean noted was rather short, scratched at his shaved head, "Yeah, but I mean there are good ones, too. It's a lot of fun just to try and guess the flavors."

Jean grinned. It might be fun to watch the chatter boxes cringe on vomit or dirt flavored candy, "We could make a game of it," he suggested, picking up his own box of beans and shaking it at them.

"Fine," said the girl, finishing Scorpius' pasty.

The girl, Sasha, he learned was a muggleborn, explaining why she had never had Berti Botts before, and Connie, the boy, introduced himself as a half-blood with an animagus for a mother, which Jean had to admit was super cool.

Once they had all introduced themselves, Scorpius took the first bean from Connie's box, "Not bad," he said, "Tastes like gingersnap."

It was Sasha's turn next. She picked out a brown colored bean and popped it into her mouth, chewing quizzically. The she smiled, "potato!" she exclaimed happily. "Wow, that's really strange to taste in a candy."

Jean chuckled, grabbing a random bean. It was blue, with light flecks of grey and white. Eating it, he instantly regretted his choice. "Shampoo!" he choked out, swallowing the candy as quickly as he could. He groaned as the whole compartment laughed at his expense. He took a bite of his cauldron cake to counter the taste.

"My turn!" exclaimed Connie, picking out a light brown bean. "It tastes like wood," he groaned. "Still better than shampoo, though," he noted wiping the smirk off of Jean's face.

Connie offered the box to Marco, who took a bit to sift through the beans until he had found one he wanted. He pulled out a light pink one, and chewed on it slowly. "It tastes like I'm chewing on some sort of cloth," he said, face contorted in disgust.

"We should all take one at once, and see what we end up with," suggested Connie, holding up his box. No one objected to this, so they each grabbed a bean. Jean's was a purple color with orangey flecks.

"Okay, on three," said Marco, "One…two…three!" They all ate their candy, simultaneously.

"Pepper!" coughed Connie, as he frantically dug through his bag for something to drink.

"Pork!" said Sasha, pleased.

"Grass," commented Scorpius, chewing his bean, oddly interested, but not repulsed by the flavor.

"Apple," said Marco, seeming happy to get a normal flavor. "What about you, Jean?"

"I think it's jasmine tea," replied Jean, rolling the flavor around in his mouth, enjoying the light, fresh taste. It reminded him of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"That's my favorite drink!" beamed Marco. He pulled a thermos out of his bag, "I even brought some, ...I guess I'm a little obsessed," he said, a light blush beginning to dust his freckled face, as Jean stared at him, confused.

Is that what the taste had reminded him of? He had just met Marco, after all. He wasn't even sure if he could become good friends with the guy once they were sorted. Marco didn't exactly seem like Slytherin material to Jean. Still, when Marco uncapped the lid to his thermos, the scent hit him like a stack of bricks, overwhelming his senses in the most calming and pleasant way.

Jean looked around at all of them, Marco, Scorpius, Sasha, and Connie. He couldn't help but like all of them. That was the problem, though. What if he wasn't supposed to like them? Looking over to Scorpius, who was giggling as he tossed Connie's Berti Botts into Sasha's mouth, Jean sighed. This kid was going to commit social suicide, he was sure of it. But he looked so elated, almost as if he'd never been that happy in his entire life, laughing heartily and falling back against Marco, as Connie lunged forward, trying to wrestle back the box of beans from Sasha, who had taken them from Scorpius. Jean envied the young Malfoy and his kind, seemingly carefree take on life. He, like Jean, had so much to live up to. But it was almost like he didn't mind at all. To Scorpius, all that seemed to matter were the four people surrounding him.

"Hey!" he snapped, as a pair of hands snatched his box of candy away. He looked up to see Sasha, grinning triumphantly. He scowled, but let her keep them, wondering if she'd ever end up with a bad flavor. She'd finished off most of Connie's and had enjoyed each and every one of them.

"Hey, we should probably get changed," said Connie, dragging Jean from his thoughts, "We're probably close to school by now."

Wordlessly, Jean nodded, reaching under his seat to pull out his school robes. He had just made some of the best friends he had ever known, and he didn't even know if he'd be able to keep them by the end of the day.


	3. The Pain of Sorting

"Firs' years! Firs' years! Wit' me now!" A loud, booming voice filled the platform as students pushed and shoved their way out of the train. Armin looked around, making sure to stay close to his friends.

"We'll see you lot later!" called James, as he and Owen waved to the group of first years, "Better hope you get Gryffindor, Al!" he laughed, nudging his younger brother sharply, before darting away with the rest of the older students. Albus rubbed his arm, grumpily, making his way between Armin and Mikasa. Armin couldn't help but feel bad for his new friend. James had seemed alright, but he sure could be mean to his little brother.

"Are you alright, Albus?" he asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine," Albus replied, voice sounding sturdy and determined, and odd echo of laughter ringing behind his reply. He was planning something, Armin could tell. But what, exactly?

"There's Hagrid!" Rose squeaked excitedly, pointing to the gigantic, harry-faced man who was currently gathering up the first years. She and Albus bolted straight to him, and Armin, Eren, and Mikasa followed.

"Hey there kiddos!" the large man, Hagrid, beamed, picking up Albus and Rose, one in each arm, and swung them round in a bone-crushing hug.

"Hi Hagrid!" Rose grinned, as he put the two students back down. Albus quickly straightened his robes back out. It was clear that Hagrid was a family friend of some sort.

"Anymore firs' years?" Hagrid called out. Once they were all accounted for, the group followed him through a pitch dark pathway. The only light available came from the lantern Hagrid held.

"What do you think it'll be like?" asked Eren, huddling close to Armin as they walked.

"Well, it's a castle. The grounds are supposedly massive, and-"

"I know that!" interrupted Eren, "But what do you think it's going to _be_ like?"

"Well, we're about to find out," whispered Armin, heart pounding in his chest nervously. He was about to attend the best wizarding school in the world. Armin wasn't sure whether to shout with excitement or vomit. He looked over to his friends. Rose looked jumpy, while Albus looked a little pale. Eren's fingers were twitching with excitement and Mikasa looked as put-together as always. Hagrid led the group of first years around a bend, and suddenly a humongous castle came into view, sitting atop a mountain in the distance, radiating against the night sky. There were audible gasps all around.

"It's more beautiful than I imagined!" Armin heard one girl behind them squeal.

Armin noticed the large, dark lake that spread out before them, wondering what lived in it.

"No more 'n four to a boat! Otherwise yeh might tip," Hagrid called. Armin, Mikasa, and Eren entered one of the little boats that sat against the shore, joined by a thin, irritated-looking first year with two-toned hair.

"All righ'! Let's go!" shouted Hagrid, and the boats began to move forward, across the water and toward the castle.

It was fairly silent, as the students made their way to the school. Armin looked at his companions. The boy with the two-toned hair was blatantly staring at Mikasa, a light blush covering his face.

"Did you want something?" she asked, giving him her blankest look.

"N-no. I mean…well…I-I like your hair, that's all," the boy stuttered. Eren turned to give him a baffled look.

"Thank you," Mikasa replied, simply, turning her attention to Eren. "So what do you think, Eren?"

"It's incredible," he responded, the boy glaring at him, seemingly for taking Mikasa's attention. "If I'm going to learn what it takes to be an auror anywhere, this is definitely it."

The boy beside Eren let out a snort, "Yeah? And get yourself killed?"

The three turned to look at the boy, who rolled his eyes, "Honestly, the dark wizards out there are just _scrambling_ to take Lord Voldemort's place. And you want to fight them at their most determined? No thanks."

Eren's eyes clouded over with anger, "Oh, and what are you gonna do, sit behind a desk your whole life? _Great_ use of magic, there."

"Yep!" the boy responded, "I have no intention of getting killed if another war starts up."

"There isn't going to _be_ another war! _I'm_ going to make sure of it!" Eren shouted, attempting to sit up, but Mikasa, in fear of the boat tipping, held him down.

"Whatever you say, hotshot," the boy responded, laughing.

"Who the hell do you think you are to shit on people's ambitions like that?" hissed Eren, as Mikasa glared. Armin sat rigid, hoping he wouldn't need to intervene.

"Jean Kirstein," the boy smirked, "The guy who's _not_ going to die needlessly."

"A Kirstein, huh? No wonder you're such a coward!" sneered Eren, "Family that couldn't even pick a side during the war!"

Jean growled, "Don't you talk about my family, asshole!"

"You'll probably be in Slytherin, like the rest of the traitors, then, huh?" mocked Eren. Armin's stomach sank at his friend's remark. He hadn't fully admitted it, but if he had his choice _he_ had wanted to be put in Slytherin house. From what he had heard, Slytherins tended to band together to seek out the unknown, even willing to go to lengths others wouldn't. This appealed to Armin greatly, but Eren was so hateful towards the house, he knew he'd never let himself be placed there. Disappointing his beloved best friends was, as far as Armin was concerned, the worst possible thing he could manage to do.

"Heads down, everyone!" they heard Hagrid shout, as the first boats began to glide through an entrance in the cliff face. His companions stopped their arguing for a bit in order to duck down.

Eren and Jean continued to glare angrily at one another, Mikasa holding down Eren's arms so that he didn't take any swings at Jean. They stayed like that until the boats all reached what looked to be an in-cave harbor, where they all exited their boats and climbed up a flight of stone steps. Hagrid knocked at the large, wooden door before them, and it opened to reveal a tall, muscular blond man with an undercut in emerald and tan robes. Armin could feel Albus and Rose's presence behind him. It was comforting after all of the tension the boat ride had wrought.

"E'eryone, this is Professor Smith," Hagrid introduced, gesturing to the man, "He'll be explainin' things from here." And, with that, Hagrid entered the castle, and dissapeared through a large room to the right.

Professor Smith gestured for the first years to enter the castle, and they followed him in. Armin couldn't help but stare wide-eyed in amazement at the castle's interior. Torches lit the wall on every side, lighting up the large chamber in a yellow glow.

"Welcome, everyone," came Professor Smith's deep, authoritative voice, "You are now students of Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We're going to start the sorting and beginning-of-term feast momentarily. For those of you who don't know, the sorting ceremony is very important here at Hogwarts, as you'll be sleeping in your house dorms, attending classes with your house mates, and do your best to earn house points toward your house earning the house cup at the end of the year. You can manage this by maintaining good behavior and answering questions correctly in class. Rule breaking causes points to be deducted, obviously."

"There are four houses that you can be sorted into," he continued, "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each has important histories and traits that go along with them, and here at Hogwarts it is of the utmost importance to make your house proud."

Armin felt his nerves hit him once again, and he looked over to Albus to see that he had gone ghostly white. At least he wasn't the only one.

"We'll begin the Sorting Ceremony in a bit, as soon as the Great Hall is ready for you. I'll be back monetarily," said Professor Smith. And with that, he turned to enter the room Hagrid had gone into. Armin could hear a lot of noise, supposedly coming from the rest of the student body, as the door opened and shut.

"Hello, there." Armin jumped in surprise, startled by the sound of a thin boy with platinum blond hair, standing beside Albus. Jean wasn't far away, quietly talking to a different group of students.

"I just wanted to say sorry for intruding back there on the train," the boy said to Albus, scratching the back of his head nervously, "I completely understand why you might not want me around. I just wanted to assure you that-"

"Why are you apologizing to _me_?" asked Albus, seemingly taken aback by the polite boy in front of him, "I should be the one saying sorry. My brother was acting so horrible. I mean, James can be horrible in general, but still…."

"Thank you," replied the boy, "But it's understandable, it really is, all things considered."

Albus shook his head, "Not to me it's not." He put out his hand, cordially, "I'm Albus, by the way."

The boy took it, excitedly, "Scorpius," his smile was so large that Armin swore it might have fallen off of his face.

"Alright, everyone!" Professor Smith had come back to retrieve the first years, "It's time for the ceremony to begin. I want everyone in single file, now, and follow me into the Great Hall."

Armin made his way behind Eren, finding his fingers entwined in his friend's robes. He was scared. Not only because he'd have to be presented in front of the entire school, but because he was deeply afraid of disappointing his friends. What if he _was_ in Slytherin? Would Eren abandon him? Armin clung to Eren tighter, as his friend peeked over his shoulder to see what was going on. Upon seeing Armin, Eren gave him a reassuring grin that made Armin even more squeamish, as they walked out of the chamber and into the massive Great Hall.

The students made excited sounds, as they glanced all around, from the starry sky-ceiling to the long, student-filled tables. What got Armin's attention, however, were the silvery beings that hovered near each table.

"Ghosts!" he whispered, enthusiastically. He'd never seen one in person before, only having read about them in books. As he understood it, each Hogwarts house had their own particular ghost affiliated with it. Armin looked to see a rather portly ghost laughing with some students at the Hufflepuff table, a woman ghost sitting placidly with the Ravenclaws, a gentlemanly looking ghost with the Gryffindors, and a rather frighting ghost, covered in what appeared to be silver blood, with the Slytherins.

Professor Smith pulled out a stool in front of the room, and placed a ragged and worn looking pointed hat on top of it. Armin knew it was the sorting hat. The sorting ceremony really had begun.

What Armin wasn't prepared for was when a tear at the bottom of the hat opened up, and it began to sing.

Armin wished that the hat's song would never end, clinging to the back of Eren's robes. He didn't want to be sorted if it meant giving up on himself or his friends giving up on him. However, the hat's song did end, and the sorting, itself, did begin.

"As I call off your name, please come to the front of the room and put on the hat to be sorted," Professor Smith called, holding up a list of names. "Ackerman, Mikasa!" Armin noted that one of the professors, a short, dark haired man in black robes and a cravat looked up with interest. He figured that that had to be Professor Ackerman, the professor James had disliked so much.

Mikasa stepped up to the stool, sitting down and calmly placing the hat on her head. It was silent for a while, and Mikasa made a rather dark, angry face. Suddenly, the hat shouted out, "GRYFFINODR!" And the table of students at the far left exploded in cheers. Mikasa made her way over, and Armin saw Owen happily clap her on her back.

"Arlert, Armin!" Armin jumped at the sound of his name, and he shakily let go of Eren in order to make his way to the front of the room, cursing the fact that the list was alphabetized.

He gingerly placed the sorting hat over his head. It fell down over his eyes, and the last thing he saw was Eren looking out at him, his friend's caribbean eyes full of anticipation.

"Hello, what do we have here?" came a small voice, "You're certainly a smart one, no doubt about that. Strong mind, but also an extreme desire to prove yourself and figure things out."

"_But I can't be in Slytherin_," thought Armin, sternly, "_He'll never forgive me if I am_."

"You _don't_ want Slytherin, huh? But you _do_, Arlert. You really do."

"_I can't! I won't! I'd rather not be sorted at all if he hates me!"_

A groan echoed in his ear, and it felt as if the hat would have rolled its eyes at him, if it had any.

"Well, if you insist, I suppose I'll put you in RAVENCLAW!"

The table next to the Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, and Armin took off the hat to see Eren beaming up at him. He knew he had done the right thing, arguing with the hat. Smiling softly, he went over to the Ravenclaw table, feeling only slightly out of place.

"Braus, Sasha!" Professor Smith called next. And an excited girl with a high, reddish-brown pony tail flounced up to the stool, slamming the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, and Sasha Braus ran over to join Mikasa.

"Bodt, Marco!" A freckle faced boy who had previously been standing behind Jean walked up to the stool.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

An audible groan was heard, along with the cheers form the Hufflepuff table, coming from Jean's direction. Armin looked over to see the boy looking angrily at the ground as Marco made his way over to his house.

"Braun, Reiner!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Carolina, Mina!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Freudenberg, Marlowe!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fubar, Bertholdt!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

A handful of other students were sorted, including a boy named Daz and a girl named Ymir being put into Slytherin, both of whom Armin recognized from platform 9 ¾. Armin looked around. Thus far only he and one other boy, Boris Feulner had been added to Ravenclaw house. He felt horribly alone. Then, the name he was dreading was called.

"Jaeger, Eren!"

The hat barely even touched Eren's head before it shouted, "GRYFFINODR!"

He knew he'd end up separated from them both; he just wasn't prepared for how much it would ache.

Eren cheered with the rest of Gryffindor house, as he was happily embraced by James, and Mikasa ruffled his hair.

"Kirstein, Jean!"

Armin saw Jean saunter up to the stool, placing the hat on his head. It sat there for much longer than Armin had thought it might, before finally shouting out the expected, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Leonhart, Annie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Linke-Jackson, Samuel!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

_"Finally!"_ thought Armin, cheering with the rest of his house, as a dark-haired boy came up to Ravenclaw table, taking the seat across from him.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Armin looked to see the friendly boy who had approached Albus before walk up to the hat, placing it on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!"

That was a surprise to Armin. The boy had seemed so kind and genuine, and, at least according to Eren, that wasn't exactly the norm for Slytherin house. Such was true if Jean's personality was any indicator, as well. Speaking of Jean; the new Slytherin happened to be cheering the loudest, as Scorpius went to join him at the table, giving his arm a happy squeeze.

"Potter, Albus!"

The hall went dead silent, as Albus approached the stool. James called out in a single "Woo!" that got him a warning look from Professor Smith, before Albus placed the sorting hat on his head.

The hat sat on Albus' head for a long time. Probably longer than any other student. Then, the sorting hat called out a name that Armin couldn't help but smile at.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hall let out a collective gasp, and Armin heard James let out a very loud "What? _I didn't MEAN it, Al!_" The hall began in a hushed muttering. A Potter in Slytherin? It was unheard of. Armin, however, giggled a bit to himself.

_"So that was your plan. Good for you, Al."_

Smiling widely, with a bit of a cocky glint in his eyes, Albus Potter strode over to the Slytherin table and sat himself directly beside Scorpius Malfoy, who beamed at him.

"Reiss, Historia!"

A tiny blond girl made her way over to the stool.

"That's the minister's name," commented Samuel. Armin nodded. Perhaps she was a relative of Lod Reiss, Minister of Magic.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted, and little Historia ran to Slytherin table, practically being tackled by a happy Ymir.

"Springer, Connie!"

A short boy with a shaved head made his way to the sorting hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table cheered, as Connie Springer sprinted over to Sasha Braus, picking her up and spinning her about. Armin sighed, sadly. It really would have been nice to have a good friend in his house with him. He looked down at his hands as a handful more students were sorted to their respective houses.

"Weasley, Rose!"

Armin's head snapped up, looking to see his ginger pal, the second to last student to be sorted, approach the sorting hat. Barely a moment on her head, and the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

Armin blinked in amazement, before springing up to cheer loudly, excitedly high-fiving Rose, as she ran up to him, happily. His head swam with glee. Sure, it wasn't Eren or Mikasa, but he finally had a friend in his house, and that was enough.

Mylius Zeramuski was also declared a Ravenclaw. And with that, the sorting had concluded. Professor Smith put away his list and made his way to his spot at the high table, where the faculty sat.

An incredibly short old man, who was sat in the direct center of the table, stood up to address the students. He was so small that he needed to stand atop his chair.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, to students new and returning," he squeaked, "I am Professor Flitwick, Headmaster here at Hogwarts, as most of you very well know. Before we begin the start-of-term banquet, I just wanted to let you all know how pleased we all are to have you here with us! I know that each and every one of you shall be an excelent additon, not only to your houses, but to Hogwarts as a whole. Thank you!"

The student body collectively clapped, as food suddenly began to appear before them. He heard a shout of glee from somewhere over by the Gryffindor table. Realizing just how hungry he was, Armin began filling his plate with the chicken that happened to be sitting in front of him.

"So, Ravenclaw house is finally graced by a Weasley."

Armin turned to see an older Ravenclaw boy with gelled up, dark hair grinning at Rose.

"I suppose so," she replied.

"Gunther Schultz," he introduced himself, "Third year."

Rose smiled and nodded in recognition, mouth full of roast. Swallowing, she began to explain herself, "I've actually wanted to be in Ravenclaw for a long time now," she admitted, "Most of my family have been Gryffindors through the years, so I already know what kind of experiences can be had there. I figured belonging to a group of people that care a bit more about the comprehension of magic and the world would suit me much more."

Gunther nodded, approvingly, "Well, you'll certainly get that here. What about you two?" he asked turning to Samuel and Armin. Armin almost choked on his food.

"My dad was a Ravenclaw!" said Samuel, "I guess I just have the same knack for knowledge as my old man."

The older Ravenclaw's eyes flicked to Armin.

"Oh! I-uh-well I guess I've always had a knack for academics…" he said quietly.

Gunther smiled reassuringly, looking over to the few other Ravenclaw first years sat at the other end of the table, "Our crop is small this year, but looks pretty damn promising."

Armin nodded, grateful for how friendly his house members seemed to be.

A little while later dinner changed to dessert, an even louder happy shout coming from the girl from Gryffindor table, who Armin found out to be Sasha Braus.

Armin surveyed the high table, looking from professor to professor, "So, who's head of Ravenclaw?" he asked, curious.

"Oh," laughed Gunther, "That would be Professor Zoe. They teach Charms."

Armin glanced at the professor Gunther pointed out to him. They had long dark brown hair and a pair of goggles strapped to their head. Currently, the professor was seated next to Professor Ackerman; excitedly chatting away, as the other looked into his goblet, apathetically, making only the occasional comment. Armin couldn't help but be intrigued by the eccentric professor.

"They seem…interesting," said Armin, carefully.

"You could say that," said Gunther.

"They're insane, aren't they?" asked Rose, good-humoredly.

"Yep!" grinned Gunther.

Once the feast had concluded, Professor Flitwick stood once again to address the students.

"Just a few reminders before we all head off to our rooms for a lovely, deserving rest. It is important to note, as we do at the beginning of every year, that the forest in off-limits to all pupils, unless escorted by a faculty member, magic is very much off limits in the corridors of the school, and Quidditch tryouts will be held in three weeks. Interested students should contact either Madame Hooch or their team captains! I know we're all very excited for this upcoming season!" A good portion of students cheered at this, "Now, off you go. First years, please follow your prefects to your designated house common rooms, and goodnight!"

Then, everyone began to shuffle out of the great hall. Gunther waved goodbye, as Rose and Armin looked around for a Ravenclaw student with a prefect badge. Once they had found her, she began to lead them up to the fifth floor, into Ravenclaw Tower.

Their prefect explained to them that the way to get into the tower had to do with (of course) answering a riddle. Entering the tower, Armin yawned, looking around him. The tower was absolutely beautiful, large, and covered in bronze and midnight blue. Large bookcases sat against the walls, seeming to welcome the brainy and knowledge-seeking students home.

Waving goodnight to Rose as they were shooed to their dormitories for bed, Armin couldn't help but be in better spirits. He might have Samuel Linke-Jackson and Mylius Zeramuski on either side of him, instead of Mikasa and Eren, but he knew he'd see them again. Armin's last thoughts before he fell asleep were of the look of happiness Eren had given him, as he'd been sorted into Ravenclaw over Slytherin. He had made the right choice. At least Eren had thought so. And maybe that was enough.

* * *

**(A/N)**

**So, yeah. About the sorting: The houses I chose aren't necessarily my headcannons for all of the characters. As a matter of fact, I can see everyone in two or more houses, depending on who they are. However the houses I chose are most beneficial for the plot I'm going with. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far!**


	4. Doodles and Unexpected Friendships

"What do you think the Ravenclaw common room is like?" Eren asked Mikasa the next day, as the two headed out of the portrait hole that led out of the Gryffindor common room. Eren had been beyond enthralled to finally be a part of the house he'd wanted to belong to for so long, staying up and chatting excitedly for several hours after the start-of-term feast with his new dorm-mates, who consisted of Nac Tius: A bold muggleborn boy who'd come from a rather poor background, Connie Springer: A short chatterbox of a boy who told really ridiculous jokes, Reiner Braun: A stoic, intelligent fellow with a caring demeanor, whom Eren had taken an immediate liking to, and Thomas Wagner: A fidgety blond boy, who seemed unsure if he had been sorted into the correct house.

However, that night, as he attempted to sleep, something had seemed off. It was as if a part of him were missing. Things felt much better in the morning, though, once he'd met back up with Mikasa in the common room, and the two headed out for breakfast before their first Hogwarts class ever. He looked forward to talking with Armin, and learning the details of what it was like to have been sorted into Ravenclaw House.

"We'll see him soon enough," replied Mikasa, attempting to calm Eren down, who she could clearly tell had been itching to see his best friend since the moment he'd awoken.

"Armin!" called Eren, loudly, once they had entered the Great Hall. The blond boy looked up, along with the rest of Ravenclaw table, as Eren rushed over.

"Eren! Mikasa!" Armin exclaimed happily, as Eren practically collapsed on top of him, and Mikasa placed her hand on his arm, warmly.

"Hey, you two!" Eren felt a hand reach over and ruffle his hair, gently. He looked over to see Rose, sitting beside Armin, beaming up at them, her red hair fluffed out all around her.

"Hi Rose!" he greeted, excitedly.

"Congrats on getting into the house you wanted!" she responded, delightedly.

"Yeah, thanks. You two look great in blue, by the way," Eren grinned, noticing the blue and bronze embroidering on their robes. He and the other Gryffindors had awoken that morning to find their robes, likewise, covered in their house colors: Red and gold. Mikasa nodded in agreement.

Eren noticed a light tinge of pink around Armin's ears and cheeks at the comment, as he muttered something that Eren couldn't quite make out.

"So," chattered Eren, animatedly, "What's Ravenclaw Tower like? I bet there's a ton of books, right?"

"Yeah!" said Armin, "It's really gorgeous!"

"See, I knew you didn't belong in Slytherin," Erin grinned, proudly. There was just no way his best friend would have ever been sorted into the house of Death Eaters, and he was glad to see brilliant Armin in the house of the wise, even if it did mean their separation at times.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here."

Eren turned around to see a fourth year Ravenclaw girl standing there, hands on her hips in irritation, "You're supposed to be at the Gryffindor table.

"I'm sorry," said Mikasa, coldly, "Is there some rule we weren't aware of that bans us from being sociable with other students?"

"Well you're _expected_ to be sitting with your house," the girl retorted.

"Calm down, Rico. They're not hurting anything."

Eren craned his neck to see two older Ravenclaw boys a bit farther down the table, who were now getting out of their spots to saunter over to them.

"Alright there, Armin? Rose?" one of the boys asked.

Rose nodded, as the older girl, Rico, scoffed, "Gunther, you know school policy promotes house loyalty whenever possible."

"You know, technically she's right," said the other boy, nervously.

"Oh, come off it, Moblit. They're first years who want to see their friends," said the first boy, Gunther, Rico had called him, knocking shoulders with his companion.

"Easy for you to say," Rico snapped, "Considering that you don't even spend time with members of your house."

"I hang out with Moblit!" he said, defensively.

"Yeah, when Ral, Bozado, and Jinn aren't around," muttered Moblit, more awkwardly than unkindly.

Eren suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve, as the older Ravenclaws argued. He looked down to see Armin, who had grabbed a small pile of toast. His blond friend motioned to the Great Hall doors. It was obvious that he'd had enough of his upperclassmen's bickering. Eren nodded, taking the hint, as he, Armin, Rose and Mikasa slowly began inching away from the group of Ravenclaws.

"That was bananas!" exclaimed Rose, once they'd managed to sneak their way out.

"It just goes to show you how serious house loyalty is taken here," said Armin, solemnly.

"Well, I mean, that's a good thing, isn't it?" asked Eren, not understanding what the problem was. Sure, that Rico girl had been kind of rude, but putting house as a priority was one of the most crucial parts of school. If it weren't, there wouldn't be any sorting and half of the traditions Hogwarts held so dear would be gone. It wouldn't be right.

"Y-Yeah," came Armin's hesitant response, as he handed a piece of toast to Eren. "I mean, I guess it's important that people take it seriously. It makes for great quidditch."

Eren smiled when Armin mentioned quidditch. He dutifully awaited the day that he could try out for the Gryffindor team. He'd practically grown up flying instead of walking, dragging his old Nimbus 2009 that he'd gotten from his father as a very young child with him everywhere. Secretly, it was stashed in a case under his bed. He knew that first years weren't allowed brooms on campus, but he had refused to leave his beloved broomstick behind, even if he couldn't fly it.

"I can't wait for quidditch season to start," Eren looked over to see Rose, dawning the same expression that he had on her freckled face. "My aunt was a pro, you know. Mostly does journalism now, though."

"Ginny Potter," said Mikasa, lots of enthusiasm in her normally stern tone, "for the Holyhead Harpies!"

"Yeah! You a fan?" Rose asked.

"An all-female quidditch team who kicks ass every chance they get? What's not to love?" she responded.

"God, I'd love to be in the pros, one day," sighed Rose, dreamily.

Mikasa smiled and nodded in agreement, "I can't wait for flying lessons to start next Thursday. Eren and I have been flying since we were little, but it'll be good to get out on the pitch for a bit as first years."

Eren too, was looking forward to flying lessons. He'd heard good things about Mr. Shadis, the instructor, from both of his parents. He fished his schedule out of his pocket, unfolding the massively crinkled paper. His face fell as soon as he looked at his Thursday class list, however.

"We have it with Slytherin," he groaned, unhappily.

"Albus is in Slytherin," Armin reminded him, softly.

Eren felt his stomach sink a bit, remembering that his new friend had been sorted into the house he loathed. James had been so dead-set on teasing him about the possibility of being put into Slytherin, and Al had seemed to hate it. Eren just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"If nothing else, you'll get to show Kirstein up," noted Mikasa. That had a much better ring to it.

"I _really _like the sound of that," said Eren, eyes flickering in determination.

"So," said Armin, breaking him away from the thought of smashing Jean Kirstein's face in with a bludger, "Rose and I have herbology with the Slytherins as our first class. What about the two of you?"

"Charms with the Hufflepuffs," Eren replied, looking over his schedule again, "Then we have herbology with them. I'm guessing you have charms with the Slytherins during second period, then."

"Yeah. So we get each other's head of house first, and then our own!" laughed Rose.

"Professor Zoe is supposedly insane, so be careful," warned Armin, good-humoredly.

The four chatted amongst themselves, nibbling on the toast Armin had brought with him, until it was time to split off and go to class.

On the way to charms, Eren had almost plummeted to his death, as he tripped up the third floor stairs, before they began to move. Luckily, Mikasa had been there to grab him, scolding him for being so clumsy.

Professor Zoe _definitely_ matched the description going around Hogwarts to all of the first years. Bouncy and excitable, the Professor spoke really fast, and wore a pair of rectangular goggles on their head at all times.

"First years! Lovely first years! Hello! I'm Professor Zoe, for those who don't know me. Welcome to charms class!" Zoe greeted the class, energetically, "I'm sending around a syllabus quickly before we get started on covering the basics of chapter one!" The professor flicked their wand over a stack of parchment, sending the syllabi out to each student.

Eren did his best to pay attention to the lecture, he really did. Professor Zoe was incredibly animated, and learning magic to the best of his ability was something Eren was obviously passionate about. However, Connie and another Gryffindor; Sasha Braus, who sat in front of him, were making it incredibly difficult, as the two muffled giggles while joint doodling on Sasha's syllabus.

"Can you two knock it off?" hissed Eren, leaning forward.

"No, you don't understand," whispered Connie, shoving the parchment into Eren's hand, "Look."

Eren glanced down. Before him was a little moving doodle of Professor Zoe, making really grossly detailed faces at him. His head shot up.

"How did you do that?" Moving drawings were a third year charm, and he knew it. How did Sasha and Connie figure it out without even taking a single, full class yet?

"Petra Ral taught Sasha last night," Connie replied, referring to a third year Gryffindor girl.

"In one night?" he asked, curious, as he handed back the doodle.

"Yeah," Sasha whispered, "It's not actually that hard."

"How does _Petra_ know how to do it, though? Today is the first day of classes for third years, too."

Sasha shrugged, and turned to a freckled Hufflepuff boy who sat beside her, "Hey Marco! Look at this!"

The Hufflepuff's eyes widened in wonder, as he studied the doodle, "This is incredible," he smiled.

"You four!"

Eren, Sasha, Connie, and Marco all looked up in surprise, as Professor Zoe called up to them, "What are you all so preoccupied with!"

"_Crap!_" thought Eren, as Mikasa gave him one of her trademark death glares. Day one, and he was already in trouble.

"Let me see that!" Professor Zoe demanded, making their way over, once none of the students had replied. They took the parchment from Marco, and looked down at it. Eren was sure they were screwed.

"You do this?" Zoe asked Marco, looking down at the freckled boy. He shook his head, nervously.

"It was me, professor," Sasha admitted, nervously.

"You? What's your name?" Zoe asked.

"Sasha Braus," she replied, trembling a bit.

Then, Professor Zoe broke into a smile, much to Eren's surprise "Well, Sasha Braus, I'd say this is pretty advanced work! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

"Th-Thank you, professor!" replied Sasha, not quite knowing how to react.

Professor Zoe nodded at Sasha, approvingly, bringing the doodle up to the front of the class.

"Everyone, I want to take a good look at this drawing Miss Braus has created using the _Animos Atramento _charm. While not hard to learn, it's very advanced for first years." A good portion of the student's "ooohed" at the doodle, and a couple giggled at the faces doodle Zoe was making.

Sasha blushed, but couldn't help but smile proudly, as heads began to turn to stare at her.

Professor Zoe spent the rest of the class explaining the charm, referring to Sasha for details, and by the end of the class, about a third of them could make basic animations of their own.

"That was _way_ more interesting than going through the first chapter!" said Connie, as the five students packed up for herbology, after the period had ended.

Eren nodded, enthusiastically. Sure, Professor Zoe was quirky, but it had turned out that they were really nice, and definitely knew how to bring out talent in their students.

"Yeah, thanks to Sasha's goofing off, we actually learned something. Though I dunno how useful it'll be."

"Using magic properly for the first time, though," said Marco, "It's incredible!"

Eren liked Marco a lot. It had turned out that the Hufflepuff was just so genuine and innocent about everything he did, and he could definitely see the two of them becoming friends in the near future.

"So, Marco, where are you from?" Eren asked, interested, as the group made their way out of the classroom.

"I'm from Jinae, originally. It's a small city in Belgium," he replied. Eren knew he'd recognized the Hufflepuff's accent from somewhere. "We moved to Hunts about three years ago, though when my mum got a job there at a law firm."

"Are you're parents Muggles, then?" he asked.

Marco nodded, "Yeah, they are, actually. You?"

"My mum's a witch and dad's a wizard," he replied, shaking his head, "My dad worked as a Muggle doctor for a bit, though. Even went through the schooling. He's really interested in how non-magical medicine works."

They chatted idly about their parents until the group made it to the greenhouse. Eren had yet to meet Professor Lognbottom, head of Gryffindor House. He was a known survivor of the Second War, and had led the legendary Dumbledore's Army in his last year of school. Beyond that, though, Eren had very little knowledge of him.

The five of them took their seats at some wooden tables inside of the greenhouse, looking around for their professor. He appeared a moment later, straightening a pointed, maroon hat that sat upon his head.

"This everyone, then?" he smiled, albeit a bit nervously, at the class. He was quite tall, and built, dark blond hair sweeping over his brows from underneath the hat. "Alrighie! Let's get started!"

It turned out that Professor Longbottom was more interested in hands-on work, rather than making his students read a lot, which suited Eren just fine.

After class, they exited the greenhouse and began to head back to the castle for lunch. Suddenly, Eren could see a figure with green and silver embroidering on their robes making their way over. He groaned. Jean Kirstein was heading straight for them

"Hey!" Marco shouted from beside Eren, waving excitedly, an odd sparkle in his eyes. Eren scrunched his face in confusion. Why would _Marco_ be so happy to see Kirstein?

A small, awkward smile found its way onto Jean's lips, "Marco! Sasha! Connie! Al and Scorp are grabbing food, we wanted to know if you wanted to meet us on second floor for lunch."

"You're not going to eat with your house?" Eren asked Marco, baffled by his familiarity with Jean, as well as Connie and Sasha's.

"Not if it means being separated from my friends," said Marco, striding over to Jean's side.

"How _much_ food are they grabbing?" asked Sasha, tapping her chin, as she and Connie approached their Slytherin friend.

"For you?" scoffed Jean, "Probably not enough. You might want to stop by the Great Hall and grab extra." Marco laughed at this remark.

"Meet up with you in a bit?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yeah," Jean chuckled, "We'll be right outside of the art classroom."

"Got 'cha!" she said, and sprinted off.

"I guess we'll see you guys later?" said Marco, looking quizzically at Eren and Mikasa. Eren wasn't sure whether to yell at Connie, Jean, Marco, or all three of them.

"Yeah," replied Mikasa, putting a hand on Eren's shoulder, knowingly.

Eren shook his head as he watched the three head inside together. How could someone as horrible as Jean Kirstein end up close with people as fun as Connie and Sasha or as nice as Marco? Particularly Marco, who was both a Hufflepuff _and_ a muggleborn? He noted that Jean had mentioned Al as well. How the hell did _Albus Potter_ end up friends with a Malfoy and a Kirstein, even if he _was_ in Slytherin?

"Hey," came Mikasa's voice, clear and calming, "Don't worry about it, Eren."

But he would. He knew he would.


	5. The Outcasts

"Great! Sandwiches! This'll be easy!" said Albus in delight, looking down at the spread of food that covered the Slytherin table.

"Yeah, luckily they didn't put out something like soup or it'd be pretty difficult to carry," agreed Scorpius, grabbing a few of the sandwiches and wrapping them in some parcel paper they had brought with them.

Albus grinned over at Scorpius. It was only their second day together as housemates, and Albus already really liked him. The way Scorpius Malfoy didn't even need to think in order to defy tradition and how genuinely kind he was to everyone around him had both surprised Albus and had drawn him even closer to the thin, blond boy that he was supposed to hate.

The night before had been excruciatingly nerve-wracking, but so very worth it in the end for Albus. He knew that he was going to choose Slytherin; he just wasn't prepared for how talkative the sorting hat would be. It had started out by pointing out his qualities, such as "stubbornness" and his "thirst to prove himself" before going through each house and describing what a asset he might be to them. He wasn't sure if the hat just wanted to mess with him, but he had known where he was going before he had even sat down. Maybe it had jabbered on for so long in order to soothe him before he would, inevitably, have to look his brother in the eye, while he made his way over to the Slytherin table. Either way, Scorpius had welcomed him with open arms, while the rest of the school had whispered in distraught. Scorpius hadn't bothered to ask how or why Albus had ended up there, he just seemed happy that he had. The handshake and the introduction before the sorting ceremony had been nice, but it was Scorpius' blatant acceptance that had really solidified their friendship.

Albus had met the other Slytherin first years, including Scorpius' friend Jean Kirstein. Jean was quite a bit cockier than Scorpius, and everything he did or said he seemed to do with a narcissistic edge. He seemed friendly enough, however, and the fact that he and Scorpius got along so well was enough to convince Albus that he had at least some merits. One of those merits was that he hardly seemed prejudice against the other houses, or at least not certain students in them, as he had excitedly agreed when Scorpius had suggested that they have lunch with three other students that they had supposedly met on the Hogwarts Express: a Hufflepuff boy and two Gryffindors.

As soon as the two had what they figured was enough food for the six of them, they began to make their way out of the Great Hall. Not long after entering the corridor outside, Albus saw a flash of red and gold make its way past them.

"Sasha!" Scorpius called, the person who had just sprinted past them, a Gryffindor first-year with wide, brown eyes and a high ponytail, turned to them. She must have been one of the Gryffindors they were meeting with, Albus deducted.

"Hey!" she replied, taking a few steps back, toward the two Slytherins, "Didn't see you there! I was just gonna go grab some more food."

"I think we have enough," said Albus, gesturing to the parcel of sandwiches Scorpius held.

"No you don't," Sasha responded, bluntly, "Besides; it would be unfair for Slytherin to have to provide everything."

Scorpius giggled and nodded, "Okay. Jean told you where we're headed, right?"

"Yep! Second floor!" she said, smiling, before wandering off into the Great Hall.

"Sasha Braus," explained Scorpius, as the two headed up the stairs, "Two things you should know about her is that she's crazy energetic, and that she's usually crazy hungry."

Albus snorted in laughter as he spotted the art classroom, motioning to Scorpius to sit down beside him on the bench, just outside.

Since he had been sorted, Albus had managed to avoid his brother and other family members, with the exception of Rose, whom he had class with. His cousin had been as chipper as ever, as their herbology class made its way through certain planetoid ingredients that could be used in first-year potions. Armin had seemed even happier, even going so far as to congratulate him on his sorting. Albus knew that he would eventually need to face James. The farther off that occurrence was, though, the better.

"Albus?"

Al looked over to see Scorpius, who was staring at him, softly.

"You alright?"

"'M good," he replied, giving Scorpius a reassuring smile, "I'm just wondering how my brother is taking me being in Slytherin, I guess."

"Oh," came Scorpius' response. The young Malfoy turned his eyes downcast, "Yeah, I can't imagine how difficult this all must be for you. I'm so sorry, I mean-"

"Scorpius," Albus cut in. If there was one thing he had learned about Scorpius Malfoy in the short time he had known him, it was that he was always apologizing needlessly, "I _wanted_ to be in Slytherin. I'm happy, here, with you."

Scorpius let out a half laugh-half sigh, as he allowed himself to relax a bit. "Sorry, I guess I just get carried away, sometimes. Afraid I'll upset someone."

"That's stupid," a voice from down the hall called. It was Jean, who was walking toward them along with a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff boy.

"It's not stupid," Albus defended, as Scorpius frowned.

"Yeah it is," replied Jean, sitting down on the floor, across from them, "Scorpius, you're the nicest kid in the whole goddamn school, cut yourself a little slack." Jean definitely had his merits, but he sure found strange ways to show them.

Scorpius perked up then, much to Albus' delight, and began to pass around the sandwiches they had collected. The Gryffindor introduced himself as Connie Springer, and the Hufflepuff as Marco Bodt.

"I've never seen a Potter up close before," Connie said, poking Albus' forehead. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or be freaked out.

"They're like rare, mystical creatures," joked Jean.

"So your dad is the guy that ended the war?" Albus looked over to see Marco, looking up at him from beside Jean, wonder in his eyes.

Albus nodded, unused to the attention. He never spent a ton of time in public as a child, and so no one really tended to ask him about his family much. He knew he needed to expect it, considering the questions James had claimed to get, but he really hadn't been prepared for just how much of a hero people considered his father to be.

Marco sat back, the look on his face asking all sorts of questions. He didn't push for any more details, though, and Albus was grateful.

"Aw, you started without me!"

Sasha's voice rang through the corridor, as she approached the group, hands full of sandwiches, as well as a bag of crisps, which she held tightly under her chin.

"I didn't see any of those," Albus said, motioning to her crisps.

"They're mine from home," she smirked, sitting down next to Marco on the floor, "Didn't know what kind of food they'd have here and I didn't want to go without them."

"Wizards don't have crisps?" asked Marco, somewhat sadly.

"We have them," reassured Jean, a look of endearment on his face, as he nudged Marco, playfully.

"Not like these," said Sasha, crunching into one. It was a triangular, speckled crisp, covered in a spicy-smelling orange powder, "I looked all over Diagon Alley when I was getting my supplies."

"Yeah," Connie put in, "And let me tell you, being dragged to every single bloody shop in hopes of finding the right snack isn't as much fun as it sounds."

"Is that how you met?" Scorpius asked, before taking a bite of one of the sandwiches.

"Yeah," replied Connie, "At Ollivander's."

"I was on my own, and Connie's mum had her own shopping to do, so we figured we might as well stick together," Sasha said, offering Marco and Jean a crisp. Both declined. She held the bag up to Connie, Albus, and Scorpius. Scorpius had decided to pass, but Connie snatched a small handful, and Albus decided to cautiously reach into the bag before him, and pull out a single, triangular crisp.

Gingerly, he bit into the top of the crisp, and his senses were overwhelmed with a striking cheese flavor, with a bit of spice. The texture was really odd, as well. Grainy but lighter than the usual Black Cat crisps he was used to, Albus didn't really know what to make of the snack food Sasha loved so much.

"This is really different," he commented, before putting the rest of the crisp in his mouth, "A lot of cheese."

"Wizards have Muggles beat when it comes to sugary snacks, but as far as savory goes, they don't even come close," Sasha said, switching over to a sandwich.

"It's kind of strange, huh?" asked Marco, a few minutes later, "Us all here together, breaking school policy? I mean, I'm not exactly used to wizard ideals, but I kind of got the feeling that we're supposed to stick with our own houses."

"We are," Albus grinned, cheekily, "But that doesn't mean we're going to blindly follow tradition, just because they say to."

Both Jean and Scorpius sharply turned to him, Scorpius' look one of approval and excitement, and Jean's one of surprise and amusement.

"I'm not gonna lie," said Connie, finishing his first sandwich, "I like this way better than having to be confined to one place during meals."

Marco nodded, "We should do this every Monday and Wednesday. I mean, our schedules are pretty much perfect for it."

Jean noticeably smiled, a genuine, happy-looking smile, before nodding in agreement, "Yeah, I mean, no one is really on second floor during lunch break, anyway. They'll never miss us, and it's only twice a week, right?"

The rest of the group made sounds of agreement, and it had been settled. Albus felt as if he could have shouted out of joy. He'd only been a Hogwarts student for two days, and already he had a group of friends to depend on. Truly, that had been one of his worries when getting sorted into Slytherin; that no one inside or outside of his house would accept him. He had beaten the odds, though, and now sat happily with a Malfoy, a Kirstein, two of the spunkiest Gryffindors he'd ever met, and a kind Hufflepuff. They must have seemed like such an odd bunch to anyone else, but to Albus it just fit together so perfectly. If he wanted to defy the taboos in Hogwarts, these were definitely the people he wanted to do it with.

"So," came Sasha, "What classes d' you guys got next?"

"History of Magic," Jean groaned, "Same as you. What about you, Marco?"

"Transfiguration," he responded, "Then History of Magic. So we just switch off."

"Wonder how much of a hard-ass Smith really is," pondered Jean, as they all finished the last bites of their lunch.

"He's your head-of-house," said Connie.

"Yeah, you ended up with Neville. Way more lucky," commented Albus. The group turned to look at him, quizzically.

"Oops, I meant Professor Longbottom," Albus corrected himself, face tinging pink, "He's a family friend, so…."

"Does that mean we can get away with stuff if we're with you?" asked Connie, mischievously.

"No," Albus chuckled, "Well…maybe…Ah, no. No. Otherwise I might turn into my brother."

"That's right; James Potter is your brother, isn't he?" Marco asked. "Scorpius had a nasty run-in with him right before we met on the train."

"I know," cringed Albus, still upset about his brother's outburst the day before. "He was also the one throwing the hissy fit when I was sorted."

"I don't get it," said Marco, "Like, aren't Slytherins just good businessmen, or whatever?"

Jean blinked over at Marco, before doubling over in hysterics.

"Fuck! Marco, you really are green."

Marco's face flushed, "Well, I mean determination and cunning are the main traits that make a good Slytherin, right? Or did I miss something?"

"Uh, _yeah_," replied Jean, still laughing, "A pretty big something. Slytherins are pretty much considered the scum of the earth nowadays. Strictly socially, anyway, not that we don't still manage to get positions of power later in life. We're awesome like that."

"What do you mean?"

"The war." It was Scorpius who spoke, unhappiness in his tone. "The Death Eaters I told you about? Slytherin was the main breeder of them. Ambition often times breeds evil, along with it. That's a fact with or without magic in the equation. A lot of Slytherins that were attending Hogwarts at the time of the last battle were banned from fighting, in fear that they would choose Voldemort's side. Slytherin is the house of Voldemort, as well as many other dark witches and wizards, it's the stigma we're stuck with."

Albus' breath hitched, as Scorpius spoke. He always sounded far too adult when he made those stupid guilty speeches. His voice was thick with shame, which only caused Albus to become angry. Marco crinkled his nose, "So what? You're supposedly all just in a waiting line to become dark wizards with a taste for Muggle and muggleborn blood? That's stupid."

"My father did," Scorpius replied, "I've already told you that, though."

"And your mother?" asked Marco, voice becoming defiant, much to Albus' surprise. He'd seemed so calm and innocent only moments prior.

"She fought against the Death Eaters. She even joined Dumbledore's Army when Professor Longbottom was heading it," Scorpius admitted.

"And you?" Marco turned to Jean, who stared at Marco, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"My family hid. Didn't take a side," said Jean.

"And Albus' dad is the one who _defeated_ them!" Marco stood up gesturing all about to his friends that sat around him.

"Well my family has only ever been in Gryffindor, until my cousin Rose and me," he corrected, but perking up, as Marco expressed the passion Albus wished he could.

"It doesn't matter," Marco retorted, "Because if Slytherins are so prejudice, then what are the three of you doing with us? Connie and Sasha looked up at them, both enamored with Marco's speech and in solidarity with it.

"Alright, alright," came Jean, finally. He stood up and placed a hand on Marco's shoulder, "We get it, Al's brother is an utter shit."

Marco began to blush again, ducking his head a bit, "Sorry."

"No need," Jean laughed, moving to ruffle Marco's hair, before stepping back, "I didn't know you had that kind of wind in you, though. You should run for minister, with a mouth like that."

The group laughed off the tension together, before their next class, all feeling more exposed than they were comfortable with, but also that much closer to one another.

That night, Albus decided that he needed to sit down and write home. He knew it would be difficult to explain everything that had transpired over the past two days, but he knew he needed to, regardless. His parents would be expecting it, after all.

**Mum, Dad, and Lil,**

**I made it here safely and in one piece. I've started classes, too, which are fine so far. Professor Longbottom said to send you his well wishes. That isn't why I'm writing, though. **

**You might want to sit down and brace yourselves. What I'm about to write will probably shock you but you should probably know (Also otherwise James will probably just beat me to it, if he hasn't already). **

**I've** ** been sorted into Slytherin. I'm not joking either, which might be what you first think, reading this news. It's been fine, though, and I really like it here.**

**I have not spoken to James since the sorting, and I don't know if he's been avoiding me, but I've been avoiding him. I know you'll yell at me about that later but you know how he is.**

**Another thing that you may want to brace yourselves for that has happened since I left is that I think I'm becoming good friends with Scorpius Malfoy. I know Uncle Ron will be furious, but Scorpius isn't like his dad at all. He's really nice and I think really scared, too. He blames himself for what his dad did, sometimes, though, and I wish he'd stop. But he's nothing like I thought he'd be. I've made a lot of new friends here, actually, from every house, even. I have no idea why James is so against the idea of spending time outside of Gryffindor. After all, you had friends outside of Gryffindor.**

**Anyway, I'm sure you'll hear about Rose soon enough, and I don't want to spoil her big reveal. The two of us will be the Weasley family outcasts by the time we graduate for sure.**

**Looking forward to your howler,**

**Al**

**P.S. Have you ever heard of Doritos? They're a muggle crisp my friend Sasha was eating. They're wicked, but really strange. Buy some if you ever get the chance.**


	6. Broomsticks and Best Friends

The first week at Hogwarts went by quickly, and by the time the weekend arrived, the first years already had received more homework than they knew what to do with. Reiner sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, along with Connie, Eren, and Mikasa that Saturday evening, attempting to finish their History of Magic essays, hoping that they could at least manage one day off, with no school work.

"I'm confused," Connie groaned for what must have been the fourth of fifth time that night, "Did Uric's Augureys make noise when someone was going to die, or when it was going to rain?"

"All Augureys sound at the first sign of rain," said Mikasa, "Uric was simply insane, and thought that he had died, and had become a ghost when they sounded."

Connie nodded his head, jotting down her words, "Thanks, Mikasa. I guess I must have zoned out during that part."

"You mean you were asleep," commented Reiner, poking Connie's arm.

"Hey! So were you!" Connie whined, flinching away.

"You were all asleep," grumbled Mikasa, irritably. "Sasha was even snoring." Connie giggled at her statement, despite her angry demeanor.

"Yeah, where is Sasha, by the way?" Eren asked, eyes flitting around the room, looking for their missing housemate.

"She's in the girl's dorm 'studying by herself'," replied Connie, using air quotes to emphasize his pont.

"Meaning that she's asleep and won't do any of her homework until last minute, right?" Reiner asked, with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Yep!" Connie said, grinning back, "Although, to be fair, she did spend the better part of lunch chasing Jean around the grounds, so she's probably tired. I told him not to take her food, but he just doesn't listen."

Eren audibly scoffed when Connie mentioned Jean's name, "I don't know what you two see in that Slytherin jerk."

Connie shrugged, "He's not so bad, you know. You just have to take the time to get on his good side."

"I don't want to be on that coward's good side," Eren said, voice thick with annoyance.

"Slytherins aren't all bad, Eren," Reiner put in, "Just yesterday I met a really nice Slytherin girl in potions. She was like a goddess!" he sighed, remembering her, "Her name is Historia, and she's adorable, and short, and has the most stunning blue eyes, and-"

"Okay, we get it. Chill," said Connie, cutting him off.

"I'm just saying," defended Reiner, who had always had a team player mentality, "You can be a little harsh is all. It doesn't matter what house someone is in. In the end, we're all here together."

Eren didn't reply. Reiner went back to his essay. He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with his stubborn housemate. When Eren had his mind made up about something, he stuck to it. Reiner wasn't exactly super keen on Jean Kirstein either, if he was being honest. He didn't hate the guy or anything, but his short temper and cocky attitude did often get irritating. Eren, too, was one to anger quickly, and Reiner noted just how alike the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivals could be.

That next Thursday contained the first flying lesson for the first years. Reiner was hardly nervous, as he'd spent a good amount of time in his childhood on a broomstick, clinging to the back of his mother's robes as they flew out to the wizarding marketplace nearby to buy groceries or necessities. Not everyone was quite so confident, though. His best friend, Bertholdt, had talked to Reiner repeatedly about how worried he was about the whole ordeal. The only time Bert's parents had let him on a broom he had only been eight years old, and within the first three minutes, he had fallen from quite a height and had gotten a concussion. Reiner remembered that day incredibly well, as he and Annie waited anxiously all evening on the Fubar's front steps, waiting for the family to return from the muggle hospital's emergency room. Bertholdt was a Hufflepuff, though, which meant that Reiner would not be able to steady his friend when it came time for him to ascend to the skies. He just hoped that Annie was in a compassionate mood that day.

When Reiner and the other Gryffindor first years reached the part of the grounds that the flying lesson would be taught, the Slytherins were already there. He noticed Connie and Sasha run up to three Slytherin boys, Jean, Potter, and Malfoy, chattering excitedly about something. Reiner looked around, until he found who he was looking for; Historia Reiss, the Slytherin girl he had mentioned to his housemates over the weekend. He smiled and waved at her, heart rate jumping up just a bit. Unfortunately there was another girl taking her attention right at that moment, Historia's friend, Ymir. Reiner disliked Ymir greatly, and it seemed that the feeling was mutual. That past Friday, in potions class, when Reiner had elected himself as Historia's partner, Ymir had been a purposely irritating presence, pestering the two of them, instead of helping her partner, Daz, with ingredient prep. Reiner fell into step beside Thomas, as he turned to eye the line of broomsticks that were currently lying in the lush, freshly-cut grass of the lawn, only a few feet away.

"Right!" Reiner heard a commanding voice to his right. "This everyone? Good. Everyone find a broomstick and stand beside it!" It was Mr. Shadis, the flying instructor. He was certainly getting on in years, his bright, golden-colored eyes carrying a massive amount of wrinkles and bags underneath them.

The class scattered about, each student trying to find the school broom with the least amount of scraggle. Reiner found himself beside an old, reddish colored broom, with twigs that were rather askew. Instructor Shadis told the class to hold their right hands over the brooms that they had chosen, and command it into their hands with and "UP!"

Reiner's broom took two times, before it snapped up into his hand. He didn't understand why they couldn't just pick up the damned things. As long as they were mounted correctly they'd fly, after all. Reiner looked around at his classmates. Certain students, such as Mikasa and Jean, had total control over their brooms, while others, like Scorpius Malfoy, seemed to have trouble, as their broomsticks hovered for a moment, and then fell to the ground again. Reiner was surprised at this, seeing as Malfoys were known quidditch players throughout Hogwarts history. He was more surprised, however, when both Connie and Sasha managed to get their brooms to float into their grasps almost right away.

When it came to mounting, his grip was near perfect. Reiner noticed Jean smirk, as Instructor Shadis went over to correct Eren's stance, which was far too wide. Jean even laughed a bit, when Instructor Shadis passed him without saying a word, simply nodding with approval. Jean knew what he was doing, far more than the majority of the first years, it seemed. This hardly bode well with Eren, who Reiner knew was hoping to show Jean up. And, indeed, when Instructor Shadis had them kick off in order to hover about for a while, Eren's broom did not want to cooperate whatsoever. The moment that Eren had managed to ascend about five feet, his broomstick flipped him upside down, violently. Reiner had no clue how in the world Eren managed to hang on.

"Eren!" Mikasa gasped out in worry, moving her broom expertly over to his side. The disoriented Gryffindor boy attempted to wave her off, but Mikasa was persistent, in trying to stabilize her brother. Eventually he allowed her to help him out, as Mikasa wrapped an arm around Eren's waist and set him on the ground, gingerly. Instructor Shadis rushed over, an irritated look on his face. Jean burst out into laughter from beside Sasha.

"Jean, stop!" complained Scorpius Malfoy from the other side of him, but Jean paid his housemate little mind, as the instructor went to check on Eren.

"I don't understand," huffed Eren, as Instructor Shadis helped him to his feet, "I've been flying my entire life, I swear!"

Shadis looked over to Eren's broom, which was still floating in place. He snatched it out of mid-air, and commanded the class to land, by gently leaning forward. Reiner heard Shadis curse, as he turned the broomstick over in his hands. "I keep telling Flitwick to put some funding into getting newer brooms. Even if they were ten years old, they'd be better than this shit." He then turned to where Reiner and Thomas were standing. "Wagner, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir!" replied Thomas, attentively and skittishly.

"Let Jaeger borrow your broomstick, will you?"

Thomas complied, handing the broom he was using over to Eren. Instructor Shadis helped Eren mount the broomstick, before giving him the okay to kick off. He let himself fly up, about seven feet in the air, before stopping to hover. He was absolutely fine, with no jerking or twisting about. Eren's balance was perfect. He grinned triumphantly at the class, noticeably letting his gaze linger on both Jean and Mikasa, the first scowling while the other beamed up at him, proudly.

After flying lessons had concluded for the day, Reiner found himself lazing under a tree with Annie and Bertholdt, escaping the September sun under its shade. The three sat on their robes, letting the breeze tickle over their bare forearms. Reiner's fingers found their way into Bertholdt's mop of dark hair, as the taller boy leaned against his shoulder, as he often did after a stressful day. Annie was flipping through a copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages".

"Haven't you had enough of that for one day?" asked Reiner, eyeing the book.

"It's an interesting read," shrugged Annie, looking to the two boys.

"How was it, by the way? I forgot to ask," Reiner said, fingernails kneading into Bertholdt's scalp lightly.

Bertholdt hummed, comfortably, leaning into Reiner's touch, not paying attention to anything else.

"Bertl?" Reiner moved to tilt Bertholdt's face upward. Annie hid a smirk from behind her book.

"Hmmm?"

"I asked how flying went."

"O-Oh! Right!" Berthold's face flushed a deep shade of red, as he sat up, quickly, "It went alright, I guess. I'm not very good..."

"He was fine," Annie put in, dryly, "He just needs to steady his grip, is all."

Reiner chuckled, "What about you, Annie?"

"She was perfect," huffed Bertholdt, "Even though it was her first time. She's a natural."

Reiner smiled softly at his friend. "You'll get there, Bertl. I know you will," he said, comfortingly. Bertholdt didn't look too sure of himself, though. Reiner sighed. Bertholdt's lack of confidence in his abilities had always been a problem, but Reiner had hoped that once they started school his friend may finaly be able to see his talents. Such was not the case, it seemed.

"I got a letter from my father today."

Reiner and Bertholdt turned, surprised, to look at Annie, who had not looked up from her book, even as she spoke. It was a sudden and rather random announcement. Annie was being raised by her single father, who, unlike Reiner and Bertholdt's parents, was a squib. When they were younger, Annie had been forbidden to play with the two boys, though she often disobeyed her father, and it was obvious just how jealous Mr. Leonhart was of the Braun and Fubar families. He despised magic, and forbid his daughter from using it, even if she couldn't control it most of the time. He also obsessively trained her in hand-to-hand combat, hoping that it might stamp out her magical power to make room for physical prowess. When Annie had received her Hogwarts acceptance letter, shortly before her eleventh birthday, she had showed up on Bertholdt's front porch, with a messily packed backpack and worried tears streaking her face. It was obvious just how terrified she had been, and luckily the Fubars were kind enough to let her spend the night on their sofa. When her father had woken up the next day, to find her missing, it was obvious what had happened. He had come pounding on the Braun's door first, and then the Fubar's, when Annie was nowhere to be found. Bertholdts parents stood firm, though, and refused to let Annie's father take her home without the solemn promise that he would allow her to attend Hogwarts. Annie lived with Bertholdt's family for a little over four months after that, until, one day, her father showed up, a caged horned owl in hand as a peace offering to his daughter. Reiner wasn't exactly sure what had transpired after that. He only knew that things had been tense, but better between the two. With Annie gone to learn about magic first-hand, though, Reiner couldn't be sure how their relationship would fair.

"That's great, Annie!" chirped Bertholdt, enthusiastically. Reiner held his tongue, thinking more cautiously about the situation. It was rare that Annie gave anyone insight into her personal life. Even when it came to Reiner and Bertholdt, she tended to expect them to figure things out on their own, rather than confiding in the two upfront. The fact that she even had decided to mention the topic of her father out loud meant that either something was seriously wrong, or she was completely overjoyed.

Annie nodded, "He didn't say much, or anything. Mostly talked about his garden and the gossip around town."

"But it's something," Bertholdt replied, optimistically.

"Yeah," Annie said, eyes smiling just a bit. Reiner felt his nerves, which had been on edge just a second ago, lower. This was good news. Things were okay.

The three best friends spent the rest of the evening like that, curled together, closely, and comforted by one another's presence. That's how it had always been for them, and Reiner, oddly enough, often felt, in the most serene, quiet moments he spent with the two people he loved the most, that the world was massive, leering down on them, ready to crush them at any moment. It was a paranoia he found hard to fight. But as long as he had Bertholdt and Annie, he felt as if things would work themselves out. They always did.


End file.
